View source for Origins of East Kingdom Place Names

The information found on this page can also be found here:   http://tinyurl.com/EK-Placenames


'''EAST KINGDOM:''' The second kingdom in the SCA, founded by Mistress Elfrida of Greenwalls, who brought the SCA to New York from California. Strictly speaking, the West, East, and Middle Kingdoms didn't have names: the "Eastern Kingdom" was sometimes called exactly that in the earlier days, simply to differentiate it from the West. (My lady and I have an early demo banner that says "Society for Creative Anachronism -- Eastern Kingdom" - ed.).

'''Crown Principality of TIR MARA:''' Gaelic for "Land of the Sea".

'''Ar n-Eilkean-ne:''' Scots Gaelic for "Our Own Island". Newfoundland.

'''Avonmore:''' Celtic "Great River".

'''Bois Ardent:''' French "Burning Forest": Autumn leaves? ["Bois" means "forest", and "Ardent" conveys the meanings "burning" and "passionate". -- Shire website]

'''Castelnor:''' "North Castle"

'''Havre des Glaces:''' French "Harbor of Ice"

'''L'Ile du Dragon Dormant:''' French "Island of the Sleeping Dragon". Montreal is built on an extinct volcano.

'''La Selve d'Aure:''' Old French "Golden Forest"?

'''Le Dragonet:''' "Small Dragon". An offshoot of I'le du Dragon Dormant

'''Lyndhaven:''' "The Linden Tree was adopted as our shire's tree to shelter the populace when our stately Elms started dying from a mysterious illness." -- Shire website

'''Ruantallan:''' Scots Gaelic "Piece of land jutting into the ocean" (via Ms Elizabeth Darnley). There is apparently a place so named in Scotland. One of the contenders in the early discussions was reportedly "Naratingatall", Newfoundland dialect for "nothing at all".

'''Distant Shore:'''  ?

'''Seashire:''' The shire by the sea.

'''Ynys y Gwaed:''' Welsh "Isle of Blood", from the red soil.

'''Coldwood:''' Cold woods (Northern New York)

'''Endewearde:''' Anglo-Saxon, "Last Watchtower" (via Ms [[Brita Mairi Svensdottir]]). Quote from [[Endewearde]] : ``Meaning: "End of the Ward." When Endewearde was established, the shire was on the north eastern boundary of the East Kingdom. Today, Endewearde is the geographic center of the East Kingdom. It is often lovingly referenced as the "End of the World" by its residents.`` It is in Maine, USA. (Quote seen on July 2020 & added here by [[Thomas of Wyndriche]]).

'''Giggleswick:''' See [[Stonemarche]] for more details

'''Glenn Linn:''' ?

'''Hadchester:''' ?

'''Malagentia:'''  Italian "Terra onde di mala gente", "Land of the Bad People", so named by Giovanni da Verrazano, who explored the ME coast in 1524. Apparently the locals gathered on the shore and "mooned" his ship. (Thanks to Mistress Anastasia Guta for this). http://www.mainecoastguide.com/sidebars/earlyexplorers.html

'''Mountain Freehold:''' Green Moutains of Vermont

'''Northern Outpost:''' Potsdam, in northern New York

'''Panther Vale:''' from the catamounts (mountain lions) of northern Vermont.

'''Smithwick:''' Craftsmen's village

'''Stonemarche:''' New Hampshire, the "Granite State"

'''Wyndhame:''' ?

'''Wyndriche:''' pronounced wind rich; name possibly due to the frequent winds in the Canton of [[Wyndriche]] incipient. It is in Maine, USA. initial idea for branch name was '''WindRidge'''. There is a town in England named Windridge, and Wyndriche has several hilly ridges. Ridge also means "a raised strip of arable land, especially (in medieval open fields) one of a set separated by furrows."<ref>Dictionary.app , version 2.3.0, copyright 2005-2020  Apple Inc.</ref>; farms are common in Wyndriche's area.

'''Anglespur:''' A bend in the river

'''Bergental:''' German "Mountain Valley", the Berkshires of western MA.

'''Beyond the Mountain:''' translation of Algonguian "Housatonic", from the river.

'''Ravenhill:''' ?

'''Carolingia:''' the Charles River separating Boston and Cambridge, MA

'''Aschehyrst:''' A grove of ash trees, home to notable EK archers

'''The Towers:''' From two colonial watchtowers (Bear Hill and Pine Hill Towers) in the Middlesex Fells Reservation.

'''Coill Tuar:''' ?

'''Concordia of the Snows:''' ?

'''Dragonship Haven:''' New Haven, CT

'''Frosted Hills:''' ?

'''Nordenfjord:''' ?

'''Nordenhalle:''' Northern hall

'''Quintavia:''' Latin "five roads". From the 5 major highways that traverse the area.

'''Smoking Rocks:''' From the spray on the rocks of the Cape Cod shore; also from whales that resembling "smoking rocks" offshore.

'''The Bridge:''' The Crawford St. Bridge, formerly the world's widest (not longest bridge), which encompassed most of downtown Providence RI until the rivers were moved in the "Providence Renaissance" project of the mid-80's. Also said to connote a bridge between Ostgardr and Carolingia.

'''An Dubhaigeainn:''' Gaelic "the Black Abyss", Long Island Sound.

'''Hawke's Reach:''' ?

'''Barren Sands:''' ?

'''Bermudez:''' Bermuda

'''Bhakail:''' According to reliable legend, the name was chosen by throwing a dart at a wall map. It landed in Lake Baikhal.

'''Black Irondall:''' Originally An Gleann nam Feorag Dhuibhe "Valley of the Black Squirrel", this was felt to be easier to pronounce, and reportedly is literally "Black Valley of the Squirrel". (via HE Mael Eoin MacEochidh, Baron Bhakail). During its Gaelic days it was sometimes called "Fred". http://www.feoraghdubh.eastkingdom.org/History.php

'''Ivyeinrust:''' An anagram of "university". UPenn, an Ivy League school. Possibly dialectal German for "bailiwick".

'''Blak Rose:''' ?

'''Buckland Cross:''' Bucks Co., PA

'''Caer Adamant:''' Welsh "Diamond Keep", from Delaware iconography.

'''Carillion:''' From the bell tower at Princeton U.

'''Forestgate:''' ?

'''Keep by the Endless Sea:''' New Jersey shore

'''Eisental:''' German "Iron Valley". Mining country of PA.

'''Hartshorn-dale:''' ?

'''Iron Bog:''' "Bog iron"

'''Montevale:''' "Mountain Valley"

'''Østgarđr:''' According to Sir Garanhir, this was originally to be spelled and pronounced "Estgard" for "Eastern fortress". Someone (who?) proposed a more Norse spelling, and Østgarđr resulted. As spelled, it means "East fortress". "Ostgård" means "cheese farm" in Swedish, which led to decades of jokes.

'''Brokenbridge:''' References the canton's best-known architectural feature, the Brooklyn Bridge.

'''Lions End:''' From the lions on the seal of Nassau Co. (via Duchess Sedalia McNare).

'''Northpass:''' Originally the Hudson was potentially thought to lead to the Northwest Passage around North America. The area is also the "northern passage" past NYC.

'''Whyt Whey:''' "The Great White Way" is a nickname for Broadway in the area of Times Square and the theater district; also a pun on "cheese farm" (see above).

'''Owlsherst:''' ?

'''Rusted Woodlands:''' Autumn leaves in the forests.

'''Settmour Swamp:''' SomerSET and MORris Counties...and Monty Python.

'''Gryphonwald:''' Griffin Forest...?

'''Marwick:''' Reportedly because "it sounded nice". ??

'''Silver Rylle:''' Silver stream. ?



Information gathered by -- [[User:Steffan|Steffan ap Kennydd]] 


entered--[[user:Treannah|Theodora Bryennissa called Treannah]] 5 July 2014
* Adjusted on EK Wiki only by -- [[Thomas of Wyndriche]] 22 July 2020, for Endewearde & Wyndriche.

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